HEADS UP! STAND UP June 5, 2023 to Stop the Pine Island Appeal!
Despite the clear and consistent message from the St. Helena community that golf courses, resorts, and gated communities have no place on the island, a developer/destructioneer continues to press forward with plans to build a luxury, gated golf resort on the 500-acre Pine Island property along Village Creek. On Monday, the Beaufort County Planning Commission will consider the request for an exception to zoning rules that would allow such a development to move forward. Join us at the meeting to speak against this exception.
Beaufort County Planning Commission Meeting
Monday, June 5 at 6 p.m.
Beaufort County Government Center
100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort
When you arrive at the meeting, you can sign up to speak during the public comment period. The meeting will be streamed virtually through the County Channel here.
The developer/destructioneer wants the property rezoned so it will be exempt from the rules of St. Helena’s Cultural Protection Overlay zoning, which was just reinforced by Beaufort County Council on May 8. We must advocate against a special exception to the rules that would set a dangerous precedent with ripple effects across the entirety of St. Helena Island.
He also is appealing the county planning staff’s denial of his request to build 6-hole golf courses on three tracts of the property.
Clearly, the developer/destructioneer is still trying to build a golf resort on the Pine Island property—which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its archeology and architecture—despite strong opposition from the community, as well as local, state, and federal leaders.
The CPO has protected St. Helena Island’s living Gullah/Geechee culture from development threats since 1999, and has helped to retain the rural character of the island. While other sea islands have succumbed to rapid coastal development and suburbanization, St. Helena has remained committed to a different vision.
Since entering an option to purchase the property for a golf resort in October 2021, this developer has employed multiple tactics to try to evade these community-driven protections. Each time, the community has fought to keep the CPO intact and enforce its restrictions as called for in the County’s Comprehensive Plan. The same level of continued support and engagement is needed at the Planning Commission on June 5 to hammer home the point that a golf resort on the culturally and historically significant Pine Island property is a non-starter.
Tune in to the video from the Protect St. Helena Island Celebration and continue to stand up with us to protect historic St. Helena Island-the epicenter of the Gullah/Geechee Nation!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-6-YEDD-CA&ab_channel=GullahGeecheeNation